Saturday, February 13, 2016

Thus says the Lord God:
Cry out full-throated and unsparingly, lift up your voice like a trumpet blast; Tell my people their wickedness,
and the house of Jacob their sins.
They seek me day after day,
and desire to know my ways,
Like a nation that has done what is just
and not abandoned the law of their God;
They ask me to declare what is due them,
pleased to gain access to God.
“Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?” Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
and drive all your laborers.
Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,
striking with wicked claw. Would that today you might fast
so as to make your voice heard on high!
Is this the manner of fasting I wish,of keeping a day of penance:
That a man bow his head like a reed
and lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,and not turning your back on your own.Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am! (Isaiah 58;1-9a)
Breaking one's will and surrendering it to another for the love of God is the most difficult act of penance. Bodily mortifications, fasting and other forms of penance are good in themselves. But they can also proceed from self will. The discipline of Lent is meant to discipline the body so the spirit could be set free. Unencumbered from the burden of selfish attachments and desires, the spirit is made lighter so it can focus itself on the things of God. Sometimes it can happen that the acts of penance can themselves become attachments and source of pride. “Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?” Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
and drive all your laborers.
Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,
striking with wicked claw.
Do we sometimes try to buy God's favors by our good deeds? God searches beyond the surface. "Man looks at the appearance but God searches the heart," says the Imitation. Work your salvation in silence but in earnest and sincerity. Let us watch our tongue, curb our impatience and set our minds in doing small acts of charity. Let us be busy with the works of God instead of being busybodies.

3 comments:

Sr Helena a powerful scripture If only I could try to enact Gods Will more on a daily basis ... Instead of looking at the smaller daily issues in my life I am blessed to have so many beautiful blessings in my life from GodThank you for sharing Hugh

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